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For some students, move-in day comes with a surprise, whether that surprise is an infestation of cockroaches in a closet or deadly mold in a shower. However, move-in day does not have to come with these types of surprises anymore.
On Aug. 18, Manhattan city commissioners heard and approved the first reading of Ordinance 6784, which establishes mandatory rental inspections in Manhattan. This evening, the city commissioners will hear the second reading for mandatory rental inspection. Hopefully, for the health and safety of K-State students, they will approve the second reading as well.
According to assistant city manager Lauren Palmer’s city commission agenda memo, this ordinance “would tie the issuance of a rental license to a rental inspection that ensured compliance with those portions of the International Property Maintenance Code that are similar to the Fort Riley Off-Post Housing Standards.”
Rental inspection will increase the safety of K-State students and all citizens of Manhattan who live in rental housing. The ordinance calls for safety precaution that ranges from mandating no electrical parts be exposed to ensuring there are well windows around all basement windows. It also will require staircases with more than four steps to have secure handrails. While most of these codes might seem fairly obvious, there are many rental houses that have at least one violation, which places residents in danger.
Some of these mandates have hit pretty close to home for me and have shown me the importance of these mandates. A close friend of mine who has a basement bedroom in her rental space noticed, after the first month of her lease, that the basement does not have well windows. When she explained to me it is dangerous not to have well windows in the case of a fire, I became resolved to fight for mandatory rental inspections.
Not only do rental inspections increase the safety of students, they insure that the health of renters is not threatened by their homes. This ordinance ensures there is no mold, rodent or insect infestations within the rental unit. Not only are rodents and insects simply gross to have in your home, they also can spread diseases within the home to furry friends or tenants.
Perhaps the highest threat to our health is mold in our living area. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mold can cause or worsen certain illnesses (e.g., some allergic and occupation-related diseases and infections in health care settings).
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the ordinance is its requirement of all rental units to have heating units that will keep the units at 65 degrees or warmer. With the extremely cold, icy and windy winters in Kansas, the idea of coming home to a warm house after walking back from class is particularly appealing.
While the health and safety of tenants should be the most important focus when discussing the rental inspection, there still is a lot of opposition from renters.
The biggest argument against rental inspection is the claim that rent will increase because of the inspection fee of $65 every three to five years and the improvement cost for landlords, who must make their rental unit up to code.
If the $1.81 it takes each month to cover the rental inspection is too much for landlords to absorb, then I am confident as a tenant I would be willing to take on that sum to ensure I live in a safe and healthy home.
If you live in a home that you do not feel is up to code, I would suggest you first call code services for Manhattan at 785-587-4506 and come to the city commission meeting this evening at 7 in City Hall to encourage your representatives to vote for mandatory rental inspection.
-Molly McGuire is a sophomore in political science and speech. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.
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